From johnwinger (@johnwinger98524):
John, so I had an idea, but just to double back, I sent a few texts out to see where the two stood now, with both players’ college careers likely complete. (Pending Caleb Williams’s call on playing in USC’s bowl game, but since that bowl is the Holiday Bowl … I’d guess his next game action comes next summer in the NFL’s preseason.)
And it turns out the consensus is even stronger than what I’d imagined it’d be.
One AFC exec said he believes Caleb Williams and Drake Maye would’ve been the first and second quarterbacks taken in 2023 and ’22, in addition to this year, and they would’ve been the second and third guys to go in ’21, behind only Trevor Lawrence. An NFC exec went a step further, texting that, based on film, he’d have Williams and Maye “definitely above them all other than Lawrence,” then said he’d go, in order, “Caleb, Trevor, Drake.” An AFC college director added he sees this year’s top two as the “best since Trevor Lawrence.”
Now, not everyone will think that way. In fact, I talked to one veteran evaluator last week who felt like LSU’s Jayden Daniels had a chance, in the coming months, to pass Maye. I’d also say Williams has a few more detractors than he did three months ago (though I call them “detractors” in very relative terms). But the bottom line here is that this is a really good year to need a quarterback, if you happen to have a high pick.
